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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22798777">Through The Eyes of a Child</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadWithDetermination/pseuds/ReadWithDetermination'>ReadWithDetermination</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Reapertale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adorable Papyrus (Undertale), Alternative Perspective, Cute Kids, Death Being Damn Cute, Fluff and Humor, Introspection, M/M, Merfolk AU, Podfic Available, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, gaylie's &amp; comic4244's contest 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:41:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22798777</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadWithDetermination/pseuds/ReadWithDetermination</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kids are smarter than you give them credit for, and Prince Papyrus is no exception.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Entry for gaylie &amp; comic4244's contest 2020 and based on their Undertale/Reapertale Merfolk AU fusion, "fuck you, i'll go towards the light")</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Death/Sans, Reapertale Sans/Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale), sanscest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Through The Eyes of a Child</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylie/gifts">gaylie</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/comic4244/gifts">comic4244</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/18917935">fuck you, i'll go towards the light</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/comic4244/pseuds/comic4244">comic4244</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylie/pseuds/gaylie">gaylie</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yeah, so, I'm being fashionably late for this contest and throwing in my entry on the last day.  Whoopsie!</p>
<p>Anyway, so this is set from Papyrus' perspective around Chapter 14 of "fuck you, i'll go towards the light".<br/>(If you haven't read it, go read it.  I've gone from rolling with laughter to wanting to strangle characters to having my heart gripped in a vice.  Not a roller coaster of emotions you want to miss - especially if you like comically steamy works and Merfolk AUs)</p>
<p>I've never attempted to write anything based from any other fanfic author's works, so this was a treat.  Here's my attempt to play with characterization!<br/>(With a little a bonus podfic version included because I CAN)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Papyrus was many things.</p>
<p>He was a child of royalty, the second prince of the realm.  Because of his contagious cheerfulness and upbeat persona, he was beloved by many - most especially his family.  And, recently, he had become a survivor of the vile plague that had shadowed his father's kingdom like one of the rumored storm clouds that roamed the Surface far above the bathypelagic waters of his home.</p>
<p>However, if there was one thing that Prince Papyrus was not, it was a fool.</p>
<p>Oh, certainly, he was privy to the innocence of most sheltered children and still viewed many things with the bright-eyed wonderment of his peers.  Whether it was genetics or merely some quirk of being run by his emotions, the little prince found himself very adept at reading others.</p>
<p>For example, he had learned quickly that the right words and the right expressions, when coupled with the right nods here or there, could lead to promising results.  Or, in the very least, enchant the people around him and lead them to fawn over him.  Papyrus really liked the attention, but he also realized soon enough that there was something...missing to some of their reactions.  </p>
<p>A particular court lady, one rather corpulent pufferfish mermonster, might coo over him, but it was without the right warmth.  She seemed amiable enough and would puff herself out to take up more space, asserting herself prominently among the other courtiers during her visits - a trait Papyrus admired - but she never seemed to <i>move</i> right, as if the every flick of her tail was calculated and she was poised for some unknown event.  Whenever she spoke with the little prince, her focus was easily directed away from him and, despite her flowery words of praise, Papyrus found she scarcely ever listened to him and was usually looking out of the corner of her eye toward the king. </p>
<p>She was, as he once heard a guard say, "all fluff and no substance".</p>
<p>She wasn't like the newest resident of the castle and Papyrus' new friend:  the witch doctor, Death.</p>
<p>No, Death wasn't anything like any of the courtiers.  For starters, he was a skeletal mer, which was unusual in itself.  But he also had the surreal, otherworldly look of those rare monsters that spawned from the deep, darker depths of the ocean.  Death was suited to exist in a realm bathed in shadow where the only light for miles around might be the luminescent ball lure dangling from his lone antenna, where appearance mattered little - unless it was needed to frighten prey in that limited light.  Papyrus had heard a few of the meaner nobles (ones that were jealous of all the royal attention given the newcomer) whisper cruel words like "strange" and "alien" in the same breath as they spoke of the witch doctor, and Papyrus found that downright rude.</p>
<p>After all, despite his strange appearance and gruff, antisocial nature, Death was a thousand times more comfortable to be in the presence of than those puffed up court ladies.  </p>
<p>The angler fish/skeleton hybrid might have had a rough appearance and abrasive manner toward most, but he never treated Papyrus rudely.  In fact, he didn't glare as much at Papyrus as he might do with some of the others, and he had even complimented his interior decorating ability when the prince had fixed up the witch doctor's new quarters!</p>
<p>(Not that anyone could <i>not</i> see that, but it was still good to be complimented for his talents, nevertheless!)</p>
<p>Indeed, Papyrus felt that Death was quite the good addition to the castle residents.</p>
<p>Papyrus wished he had more time to observe Death, but duty did call.  Being so ill had put the young prince behind in his studies, so it left Papyrus with quite a bit of catching up to do.  That, of course, was a challenge that the Great Prince Papyrus would easily accomplish, and with zeal!  Unlike his older brother, Papyrus actually enjoyed his classes and refused to shirk his responsibilities.</p>
<p>Of course, for the moment, it seemed as if the heir to the throne had other, more important matters to attend to.</p>
<p>Namely, a downright <i>giggly</i> angler fish that seemed to have finally come out of his grumpy shell and have some fun!</p>
<p>As Papyrus glanced up from the cookie he was nibbling to watch the witch doctor wrap his arms around his brother's neck before attempting to bury his dopey grin into Sans' cervical vertebrae, followed by the weary and amused expression of the older prince quickly becoming tinged with his magic, Papyrus nodded to himself.</p>
<p>It seemed as if coming to the castle had been good for Death, too.</p>
<p>---------------------------------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>BONUS PODFIC:</p>

<p></p><div class="tumblr-post">
  <p>
    <a href="https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/post/190908341542/through-the-eyes-of-a-child-entry-for-gaylie">https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/post/190908341542/through-the-eyes-of-a-child-entry-for-gaylie</a>
  </p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you all enjoyed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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